Luke Barnes

Anyone tried this with floating soft plastics like zman stuff or air tail worms?

When i go catfishing I use three different presentations regardless of the bait I'm using. Heavy carolina rig, santee Cooper rig, and a circle hook under a bobber. I cast to generally the same area and have three areas of the water column covered. Catfish dont use lateral lines like bass, to detect vibration and movement. They go on sense of smell mostly. But they dont just bottom feed. A flathead catfish is an apex predator and prefers live bait. Which swims and squirms on the hook. So they do sense movement better than channels and blues. Channels will eat just about everything. Cast and wait unless you know there are flathead there and you're targeting them. Then you can use a live bluegill, cut the tail fun off and hook it in the tail end and slowly drag it.

Ive caught my own lure a time or two. The first time it was a squarebill. Tied on a lipless after I lost the squarebill and as I'm reeling I feel it catch and set the hook in case it was a fish. Started reeling and noticed it wasnt a fish, but was not just my lipless. Got it up and saw, I got my squarebill back!!!! Then had a buddy break off a t rig. I ended up catching the line and got the hook, lure, bead, and weight back!!

The combos I was looking at were the Lews Speed Spool LFS combo and the Abu Garcia Revo X combo, because if i piece one together its going to have one of those two reels. All the other Lews combos in that price the reels have graphite frames and I'm looking for aluminum. So I'm wondering if either of the rods on those 2 combos are a strong MH in everyone's opinion. Fast action too.

I used to have a rig I called the last ditch effort rig. It was a small 1/32 jig head with a Gulp Minnow under a bobber. Depending on depth 12" to 30" deep. I havent used it in a long time because I'm tired of having an entire bag of tailless gulp minnows.

This thread has the gears in my head spinning. Ive never used it or a traditional Carolina rig. I really like the idea. I know most soft plastics dont float, but the zman elaztech stuff does. Has anyone tried this? Or airtail worms? I RARELY use worms or stick baits but I want to try this. I have plenty of zman plastics, plus worms and stick baits. I'm going to experiment with this in a local heavily fished pond.

I could "power" fish a ned rig. Long casts, quick and big pops like a t rig and cover a ton of water, or even swim the thing. So can you power fish a finesse bait? Or finesse a power fishing bait? I say, fish whatever bait with whatever setup you have and call it what you want. If it catches you fish, that's all that matters.

If I piece a combo together that's the rod I would go with, or a Berkley lightning rod. It would be for a frog and jig and bigger t rig setup. So not really looking for a weaker H, more a MH that is stout enough to work for what I'm wanting. I know for $150 I can piece one together. The Diawa rod and a Lews Speed Spool LFS. But I'm trying to get a more quality rod for the same money by getting a combo.

For bass I use 3 setups. 7' MH/F 20lb braid straight for t rigs, single hook lures and frogs. Baitcaster 6'6 M/M 15lb copolymer fluoro coated for treble hook baits and smaller and lighter single hook baits. Baitcaster 6'6 ML/uuhh I think its a fast, i dont remember. 10lb braid to 12lb fluoro leader for finesse, mainly ned rigs. Spinning. I want more though. A dedicated frog and jig setup and a 6'10 mh/f baitcasters setup. I could make it all work with the three I have, but I hate retying and would just rather bring more setups!!

Nor would I be able to afford it!! Like the Abu Revo X combo, the reel is $100 retail so basically getting the rod for $50. Purchased seperate would probably be $200. So really trying to find a combo that is heavier than advertised. Around the $150 Mark.

It seems like 90% of combos come with a MH rod. I'm looking for a rod more on the H side but I dont want to buy seperate if I don't have too because a combo is cheaper than buying the rod and reel individually. Oh a casting rod to be specific. As far as casting rods, I have 2. A Lews MH and an Abu Garcia M and they both seem to be what they are advertised as. But I know every company makes rods a little different and one companies MH may feel like another companies H. So, curios as to which brands and rods are like that.

Awesome setup!! I recently got a finesse spinning setup and so glad I did!! I catch more fish on it than both of my baitcasters combined!! Ive pretty much left a ned rig tied on it so far.

Ive never fished the Shimanos but I do like the look of that combo at that price. I go mainly off of specs, then read reviews. What does it mean for it to be "geary"? Right now my main feel I use is a Lews American Hero. Pretty much bottom of the barrel for Lews. Ive frogged on it, gotten sand all over it, dropped it. Its still going strong and smooth. But I do agree I need to look for a better quality reel over a rod. I do know i want an aluminum frame on the reel. Ive felt the graphite flex on a heavy fish and that is the single most important criteria I'm looking for in this setup. When I look at a reel I first look at frame material, then gear ratio, then brakes, then bearings.

@king fisher great post! Im going to really ponder on that and what each lure does and mimics. Like I use the TRD Ticklerz because when I use them in shallow clear water they look like a little fish nose down eating off the bottom. So maybe that's what the bass sees and why those little logs with whiskers have caught me fish. I get the craws, but the worms ive never understood, but they catch the fire out of fish. Maybe they mimic something the bass sees that I don't.

Ive read alot about the texture of the bait comes into play with this too. Obviously a crank bait isn't going to feel real, but you usually know when you have a bite and can set the hook. Ive noticed the TRD stuff, fish seem to hold onto. No scents just the stick and had one on and didnt realize it for a good few seconds and it tried to swallow it and got gut hooked. I got it out and the fish was unharmed btw. But ive also realized scented baits are for when they bite, not to make the water smell like bait. I like this statement. It made me think what if they are sick of shad and really love draws, but there arent many craws around. Very good point you made!

To clarify more, I'll get unemployment and I get disability from the VA every month that covers 85% of my bills. So I can swing $150. Why I capped it there is I wont always frog fish. I wont always be in a place where it would be good to whip out the frog. I'll still use my 7' MH and 6'6 M for the majority of my fishing. But my thinking about the Abu combo is I'm basically buying a Revo X and getting a free rod. So if I dont like how the MH handles fish I can get a cheap H rod. I agree sensitivity is not needed and I'm a fairly big guy so weight is a non issue. If I'm going to buy a setup I dont want cheap garbage stuff that works ok. The Diawa AirdX and Lews Speed Spool LFS would be my choice if buying seperate. Just seeing if in that price range anyone has had good luck with other rods and reels that maybe I should consider. Like the Lews Carbon Fire. I'm going to look into one of those for sure!

You and me both. Ive caught more fish on TRDs than anything lately. So that made me think, why do we try to look like catfish when my thumb in a random color catches fish??

I got a severance that I worked hard to earn. Some of it is going to me. But I set a cap on it. So if anyone else has any contributions i would be glad to hear.

Through my research a frogging setup sounds VERY close to a jig or bigger swimbaits setup. If it's multi purpose I can justify it. Within my budget I picked out a Lews Speed Spool LFS in 7.4:1 ratio paired with a Daiwa 7' Airdx H rod. But...... For $100 Bass Pro has thr Shryock Abu Garcia combo for $100. Its got a Revo X feel in 7.3:1 with a 7'3 MH rod. Any will have 50lb braid. Whats everyone's thoughts? I have the money to buy a $300 set up but I refuse because this is a hobby and I got laid off 1 week ago (thanks oil industry). So budget absolutely can not exceed $150. No wait and save up, no for $20 more. $150 max or I'll ask you to buy food and diapers for my 2 kids. Thanks!!

I'll start off saying I dont do this, but it made me think. If we are mimicking a fish profile or a feeding fish, why dont we throw nothing but swimbaits? Spinners, jigs, spoons, ned rig, whatever. If ita supposed to mimic a fish, why not throw the most realistic swimbaits you can? Caveat: i dont throw swimbaits much. Soft or hard. It just popped into my head and I'm curious.

I have a 6'6 ML spinning setup that I use 10lb braid as the main line to a 12lb fluorocarbon leader. Would work well for your setup too.

I'm a low end angler. Most expensive is my Lews American Hero baitcast combo. Paid $70 for it. But I love it and it does what I need. If I had the spare money, I would get an Abu Garcia Revo Ike reel in 8.0-1 on an Ike power series 7'3 H F rod.

I've got Power Pro on 2 and Spider Wire on 1 and Berkley X5 on 1. The power pro is strong but a little rough. Spider wire is good for me all around, smooth, good casting, and strong. I actually just spooled up the X5 on a new combo and have tried it yet. I like the feel and smoothness of it. Plus I got hi vis and wow is it bright!!!

Thanks!! That's the game plan!! Got some new lures to throw on the ned heads too, so hopefully it all works out good!

I decided on a Bass Pro Crappie Maxx combo. 6'6 ML. I cant remember the wize of the reel. I have 10lb hi vis braid on it with a fluoro leader so I can see the line better to watch it for bites. I'll try it out tomorrow for the first time.